Stress can take on many forms, causing a downward spiral that can bring on many negative symptoms such as emotional overeating, insomnia, sleeping to much, sadness, anxiety and depression.

Stress can affect every part of the body and produce negative physical, mental and emotional symptoms. One biological affect of chronic stress is weight gain. Trying to lose weight can be an even bigger challenge for people with chronic stress.

Chronic stress-in tandem with a junk food diet-can lay fat on your belly. Scientist at Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington and in Australia and Slovakia have shown in mice that stress activates the hormone neuropeptide Y (NPY), which leads to fat accumulation.

The findings, in July's Nature Medicine have raised hopes that NPY could be manipulated to treat obesity. Source: AARP BULLETIN

With all the new research pointing towards an obesity epidemic here in America, parallels can also be drawn between the relationship of unhealthy lifestyles and stress. People tend to take worst care of themselves due to their apathetic and pessimistic outlook on life, which in turn will cause lack of motivation to exercise or be active and eat right.

Avoiding stress (pain) and seeking pleasure is how most people spend their lives. People try to spend their lives somewhere in the middle at the comfort zone where stress is kept under control. If an event or situation is causing stress and you have fallen out of the comfort zone, stress relievers such as fatty and sugary foods, alcohol, smoking etc. can become abused.

More and more people are seeking natural alternative methods that don't require drugs that usually end up not working in the long term.

Exercise in itself can relieve stress by releasing chemicals (endorphines) in the brain that will put you in an uplifting mood. But exercise alone won't cure stress related weight gain, you also need to want to take better care of yourself with a mental and emotional transformation.

Sometimes out of the ordinary natural remedies are best and hypnosis and yoga are becoming a mainstream solution to relieve people from stress related weight gain and every day anxiety symptoms, especially since both can be taught and performed alone and at home.

Unfortunately, many individuals have a hard time sticking to a conventional diet, especially since it usually involves elliminating a lot of your favorite foods and requires a lot of dedication not only to a strict diet but a full healthy diet program needs to include exercise also.

Hypnosis and yoga are in the spot light for their general health and healing benefits, relieving stress and its related symptoms of obesity and the diminished desire to get physically active or exercise.

Hypnosis is an altered state of consciousness, in which you enter a trance-like state.

Hypnosis only works on willing participants and your success will depend entirely on your desire to achieve your treatment goal.

When a person is under hypnosis, they will enter into a state of mind similar to when someone is totally unaware of their surroundings while listening to music or while driving or running.

For many years hypnosis was frowned down upon as a theatrical parlor trick exploited by charlatans, but western medicine has shown a fascination in its potential and has since become a useful tool in helping people lose weight, quit smoking, help relieve chronic pain and also used to motivate or extinguish phobias and fears.

For Hypnosis to be effective to control weight, the individual needs to undergo a mental transformation that will get rid of the food cravings and reinforce their resolve to eat better by avoiding unhealthy food choices and the motivation to be physically active with exercise or some form of fat burning activity.

There is no magic to hypnosis, only the individuals use of a natural physical state that influences your subconscious that is only effective if it's something you truly desire.

Yoga, is one of the six systems of Hindu philosophy that has been developed over thousands of years. When in use, the participants will experience a sense of rejuvenation and power plus a sense of union with mind, body and soul.

One of the more physical types of yoga is Hatha, with Ashtanga, (eight limbs) being the most intense-kind that utilizes asanas (poses) that are physically powerful.

A more modern term used today is Power Yoga and is being utilized in many of the gyms and workout classes in America due to it's vigorous and physically demanding constant poses. Because of the constant movement (flow) Power Yoga helps fortify both mind and body while increasing your heart rate and your flexibility.

For a complete fitness regimen of yoga only, it must be vigouros enough and long enough to have a cardio, fat burning, weight loss result.

With all the benefits connected to yoga and exercise for stress relief and overall general health, many individuals are combining exercise with yoga such as jogging, brisk walking, aerobics, etc.

Like all forms and styles of exercise, if it isn't performed on a regular basis, all of the benefits will be lost and just like starting a new workout routine, you need to start out slowly at first to avoid injury.

Regardless of whether you are trying to relieve stress or just want to look and feel better about yourself, hypnosis and yoga are both credible alternatives free of drugs and supplements. The results will depend on your efforts.

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